Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, kicked off his pre-series press conference with words, “Sachiiinnn Sachin”! It really summed up the mood at the Eden Gardens. However, the colourful Caribbean cricketer soon came back to business when he vowed on behalf of his team, not to get awed by the occasion.
“We have a lot of respect for India. If you look at the way their batsmen batted in the recent ODI series against Australia, you’ll agree that no one wicket is a prized wicket; all of them are important. Everybody in the top-six except (Murali) Vijay has been in good form,” Sammy said.
“But the last time we were here, we were bowling to Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Dhoni, and we bowled the team out three times with four main bowlers. So, we’ve got to be very confident this time,” Sammy said, referring to their 2011-12 Test tour to India.
“We went on to win a few Test matches after our last series in India. We come here with a lot of experience; our young batsmen who played in that series have gained so much exposure since then. We’re in a better frame of mind and are playing much better cricket. We are ready and excited and we look forward to playing good cricket in a series that will draw curtains on Sachin’s career. We’re just honoured to be here playing this series and will do our best to compete and win the two matches,” said the West Indies skipper.
As for the Sachin Tendulkar factor, Sammy said his team doesn’t worry too much about the hype created around the series because of him.
“Nobody can not know what he has done for cricket and India. He has been a great ambassador for the game and he deserves every bit of the celebration that he is getting. As a team, we just look to block it out because at the end of the day we’re here to play cricket. Irrespective of what goes on in the media or the opposition dressing room, we have to remain focused on our job. We will work to come out on top after the five days of exciting cricket, which we hope it will be,”
While the Indian captain was confident that his batsmen will adjust to the needs of Test cricket after enjoying the run feast that was the ODI series against Australia, Sammy hopes for the opposite.
“The Indians have been playing a lot of one-day cricket of late and they’ve been on the go! It was a run-fest during their recent series against Australia. Hopefully their batsmen will come out and play big shots, giving us some edges in the slips, lbws and bowled outs. We hope they come in the ODI frame of mind and make mistakes early in the innings,” Sammy said.
Anyone who witnessed the carnage spread through that ODI series, would agree that bowling is not India’s strongest aspect. But like the Indian captain did earlier, Sammy too defended the Indian bowlers saying the run flow was a result of the batting friendly conditions and the new ODI rules.
“Limited overs cricket in India always produces a lot of runs and you cannot judge the bowling when you have only four men inside the circle, the wicket is flat and the outfield is fast. But if their bowling is their weakness, it’s all good for us and we won’t complain,” Sammy said.
While the Indian captain gave out nothing regarding his team composition, Sammy was more open. “Looking at the pitch, which already has too many cracks, I think two spinners, two genuine pacers and one all-rounder will be the way to go,” he said.
“The last time we played six batsmen, two pacers, myself and Devendra Bishoo (leg-spinner). This time we will look to correct it and come up with a better combination.
When asked whether the team will miss the mystery of Sunil Narine, the captain answered in negative. “Narine has been playing a lot of cricket for us and according to the selectors we cannot burn him out,” he said.
“But we have Shane Shillingford in the team who is capable of bowling long spells and has done very well recently in Test cricket. We also have young Veerasammy Permaul, a left-arm spinner, who will compliment the off-spin of Shillingford well.”
